England bat Pakistan out of third Test before Robinson moves in for the kill

Friday is the only sold-out day of this third Test but whether that translates into a full house at Edgbaston remains to be seen. Much like the series itself, the contest is long since over, set in motion by Pakistan’s howling collapse on the first day and then compounded by England’s ruthlessness on the second.

Although for all that England’s march to a 3-0 clean sweep seems a formality, there should in theory be a fair chunk of cricket for ticket-holders to enjoy. Joe Root’s men are eight wickets away from enjoying a weekend at leisure, with Pakistan, set to resume on 52 for two, still 268 runs away from making them bat again.

It followed a dominant performance from England which turned 156 for four in the morning into 453 all out by tea. That said, three men still trudged off despondently. Harry Brook needlessly ran himself out on 75, Dan Lawrence chopped on for 65, while Jamie Smith fell for 69 after batting through the pain of a suspected broken finger. In all three cases, a century went begging.

At one stage, when Ollie Robinson chugged in after tea and knocked over two batters in his first over, it looked like the match might be done in two days. The parachuted-in Saim Ayub sent the first ball flying to Brook at second slip to complete a pair, before Abdullah Shafique feathered the fourth to Root.

The daft thing was, this dramatic double-wicket maiden was not even Robinson’s best opening salvo of the summer, having knocked over three New Zealanders in his opening over at Lord’s back in June. Swapping a few words with Shafique on departure, Robinson looked like a man in the mood for a quick kill.

As it was, rain that swept in from the west cut the evening to just 12.4 overs and the final image of the day was not Robinson’s wild-eyed celebrations but the covers spread over the outfield. One chance did go down before they came off, however, with Shan Masood dropped by the diving Ben Duckett at third slip on 13.

That Root had returned to first slip to claim his 220th career catch – reclaiming the outfield record from Steve Smith in the process – may have been down to two drops by Duckett there on day one. Equally it might have been a realisation that his bowlers no longer need his input from mid-off, such is their hold over Pakistan.

Although Gus Atkinson, the man denied by Duckett’s leaky buckets, could probably have done with Root’s arm around his shoulder. In a series where England’s quicks are chewing up their opponents like it is a speed-eating contest, Atkinson has claimed one for 172. The poor bloke has bowled alright, too.

More to follow …